Position: 18º 48.222′ S 37º 46.128′ E
Last night was one of the best nights of passage I have ever had. The exhilaration of gently flying across the ocean at 9 knots with nary a chop to the water, combined with the bright moonlit, star filled sky was an overwhelming experience. Add to that the difficulty of navigating this enormous gyre (to maximum benefit) and I was in a bit of sailor’s heaven.
Contrast that to my wakeup call this morning. “The Donald is ahead and it isn’t looking good.” This was two hours into my four our off-watch, but I couldn’t go back to sleep. We got more news at 11:30 (local) when we were told that Hillary conceded the race. Now we are weighing our options. This gyre will probably turn round and round indefinitely, that’s one option. Rendang Raja raja is also an option
I have to say, and I have been saving this for a blog post, but here it is, that cruising under Obama’s administration has been amazing. The greeting that we receive in every country is peppered with praise for our leader. In Indonesia, after hearing that we are American, people would literally shout OH BAH MAHHH repeatedly until we smiled and did the same. I fear for our reception under the insulationist regime to come. I fear for our daughter, and our extended family, which are both targeted under the Trump presidency. I fear for our country’s future.
The boat is fine, the crew is fine, but all is definitely NOT well.